ORDAIN, used by the Eng. VSS to render a large number of Heb. and Gr. terms in both testaments. The verb “to ordain” and the noun “ordination” have undergone semantic changes since Tudor-Stuart usage. The modern sense of “being installed in a specific office” is not implied in the overwhelming number of usages in the KJV. In general the term as used in the KJV and later editions refers to four different types of activities: 1. set in a determined order, 2. initiate, establish, 3. to decree, issue a command and 4. install in the office of a religious functionary. These divisions are purely contextual and secondary and do not necessarily arise out of the specific use of certain verbs except in the case of 4. which is separately developed in the NT, on the basis of the OT institution.

1. A number of occurrences of Heb. verbs “to arrange” and the like are rendered “ordain” (Ps 132:17, et al.). This usage is obscure but widely distributed as in Hebrews 9:6. It is used of sets of similar objects and their distribution, RSV more accurately renders “prepare,” but this has the shortcoming that not all the original terms so tr. can be limited to such a meaning. JPS renders “order” which is the best choice, for all of the passages are difficult.

2. A number of occurrences of Heb. verbs “to give” and the like are rendered “ordain” in the sense of planning and establishing as of celebrations, rituals and offerings (Num 28:6; 1 Kings 12:32; Ps 8:2, 3; Isa 26:12). In the extended meaning “prepare” it is used to render several Gr. terms “to prepare” (Gal 3:19; Heb 9:6.) The RSV renders most of these passages by “ordain” or “prepare” as the case may be.

3. In a few passages the notion of God’s authoritative command is rendered “ordain.” This sort of context is found in the OT only in Esther 9:27, but frequently in the KJV rendering of the Apoc. (1 Esd 6:34; 8:14; Tobit 1:6; 8:7, et al.). This usage appears widely in the NT (Acts 16:4; KJV; Rom 7:10; 1 Cor 2:7, et al.). In such contexts the idea of God’s law as His spoken and established will is foremost. The terms in the original are not so formal and thus the RSV rightly renders “promise.”

4. The most important sense in which “ordain” appears is that of installing or elevating a special officer of the congregation. In the OT this applies specifically to the anointing of prophet, priest and king. It is used also of the special officer-religious figure, the Messiah. In fact, he often is denoted as the servant par excellence in a number of prophecies. The classic debate as to whether or not the ordination of the NT minister is a sacerdotal investiture has raged for centuries. The Catholic theologians, both Gr. and Rom., maintain that such was the case, while Reformed and Arminian groups have refused such notions. The usage of terms, particularly, Gr. τίθημι, G5502, “put or place” and the compound form, Gr. καθίστημι, G2770, appears in John 15:16; 1 Timothy 2:7 and Titus 1:5, and shows that the apostolic congregation was merely demonstrating the choice of God. The elemental condition for ordaining, setting apart the specific individual, was his proven loyalty to the Gospel and his success as a member of the congregation. Thus “to ordain” was only to acknowledge the function of the individual. All the offices of the congregation were functional and in no sense sacerdotal. The formal ceremonial installation which became characteristic of the Church in the Medieval period is not implied or expressed in the original sense of the terms. In such cases the RSV often renders “appointed,” which does not quite satisfy the meaning of the terms. In Acts 16:4 the text should be rendered “judged” or “reached” (RSV) but not “ordained” as KJV.